With an impressive ceremony, marked by strong emotion and high symbolism, LAMDA Development confirmed at the inauguration of the Ellinikon Sports Park that the vision of creating a place, open and accessible to all, is becoming reality. Europe’s largest urban redevelopment is already coming to life. The day of the inauguration of The Ellinikon Sports Park marks that Ellinikon is moving from the era of plans to the era of deliveries.
The inauguration ceremony was honored by the presence of the Prime Minister, ministers, representatives of the political leadership, the Governor of Attica, mayors, the sports leadership, athletes, among them Olympic and Paralympic medalists, as well as representatives of the business world, the local community and the media.
The audience watched a spectacular show of music, image and sound, where the children from Sports Clubs of the neighboring municipalities, affected by the development, stole the show, who with an impressive performance, led by Olympian Lefteris Petrounias, conveyed the pulse of celebration, participation and shared experience to the world.
In his greeting during the inauguration ceremony, the Prime Minister emphasized among other things: “The Ellinikon Sports Park is a project that belongs to all residents of the southern suburbs, ultimately it belongs to the residents of all of Attica, to amateurs, professional athletes and our Paralympians, an infrastructure which I would call an important ‘lung’ for a better everyday life, but also a springboard for more victories on the tracks and on the fields. Thus, one more ‘tile’ is added to the largest redevelopment currently being implemented in Europe. An emblematic intervention, not only because of its size but, I would say, because of the significance it acquires, marking the triumph of tomorrow over yesterday”.
The CEO of LAMDA Development, Odysseas Athanasiou said in his speech: “If there is one word that characterizes this park, it is coexistence. Of elite sports with daily exercise. Of sports clubs with families. Of children with older people. Of effort with joy. What for years many believed would never happen is now beginning to become everyday life and from the moment a space fills with people, it truly ceases to belong to those who designed or built it. It belongs to those who live it. Ellinikon was for all of us a promise, today hearing the voices of the children on these courts we can finally say: the promise is beginning to become life and this life belongs to everyone”.
The Governor of Attica Nikos Hardalias, stated: «The delivery of The Ellinikon Sports Park marks a new era for sports and substantially upgrades the quality of life in southern Attica and throughout the Basin. It is a modern, green and fully accessible infrastructure, creating new opportunities for athletes and citizens. The Region of Attica will immediately proceed with the lease of part of the new Sports Park, so that, in cooperation with SEGAS, we can transfer track and field athletes’ activities here and at the same time develop mass sports programs and important sporting events. We invest in modern, safe and open-to-all infrastructure.
With the aim of creating a vibrant space of coexistence and inclusion, LAMDA Development linked the inauguration of The Ellinikon Sports Park with a highly symbolic gesture, granting offices within the new Sports Park to the Hellenic Paralympic Committee. As part of the inauguration ceremony, the President of the Committee, Giorgos Kapellakis, received from the CEO of LAMDA, Odysseas Athanasiou, the key to the new facilities, which will now be housed at The Ellinikon Sports Park.
The President of the HPC Giorgos Kapellakis stated: «I would like to express my warm thanks to LAMDA Development for its tangible support to the Hellenic Paralympic Committee. Of particular value to us is the fact that our new offices are located at The Ellinikon, in a modern, organized and high-standard environment, which creates a special framework for our new course”
During the event, a strategic partnership was announced with the Mouratoglou Racket Club, one of the most recognized international brands in the field of sports, which will be developed at The Ellinikon Sports Park as part of the second phase of development.